Study Shows Medicaid Expansion Improves Early-Stage Cancer Diagnosis

A new study from Indiana University has found that the Affordable Care Act led to an increase in early-stage cancer diagnosis in Medicaid expansion states like West Virginia.

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The research suggests that public health insurance may increase cancer detection. Early cancer detection is linked to better outcomes for patients and fewer deaths. West Virginia has one of the highest rates of cancer in the nation.

The research found that Medicaid expansion increased early cancer detection rates by 6.4 percent from pre-ACA levels. There was no detectable impact on late stage cancer diagnosis rates.

Researchers concluded that expanding access to health insurance and health care has a measurable impact on diagnosis and treatment.

The study was published this month in the American Journal of Public Health.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

It’s hard to find a spot on the map where the proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act would have a bigger effect than in the Ohio Valley. By one measure, for example, the proposal could mean West Virginia’s rate of people who lack health insurance would climb by nearly 300 percent -- the biggest such change in the country. The projected declines in Kentucky and Ohio are also more than twice the national average. This is largely due to proposed changes in Medicaid.

A vote on the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has been put on hold after several Republican Senators, including West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito, have publicly said they cannot support it. Nationally, opposition for the bill continues to mount as more and more groups release reports about the negative impacts the current bill could have on access to treatment in rural areas, like much of West Virginia.

Trump administration officials have been visiting parts of the country affected by the opioid addiction crisis, including the Ohio Valley region. The administration called it a “listening tour,” and they got an earful in events marked by protests and controversies.